Pages

How to: Rose Exfoliating Hand & Body Scrub

This luscious looking concoction is a simple exfoliating scrub with all natural rose you can make in a matter of minutes with a few simple tools.

Not only is it easy to make, but it's absolutely fall-in-love-with-your-own-products fabulous to use.

The star ingredients: your own handcrafted rose exfoliant and your own rose-infused oils. Are you ready to get busy with this?

Hands, Feet, and Body

I originally intended this as a scrub to soothe and smooth hands and feet, but after trying it out (and falling head over heels), it was tested as a body scrub.

All the emulsified scrubs I have been fooling around over the past several months paled by comparison after a single use. To be fair, that might just be because I was ready to switch up my routine, but it became an instant hit and I've already been through several batches.

Whether you use this scrub for hands, feet or body, you might want to double up the batch portion if you know someone who might enjoy a personalized handcrafted gift made by you.

About the Dry Ingredients

I've chosen Himalayan Pink Salt (fine) (INCI: Sodium Chloride) because it is a great exfoliant that brings a little extra action to the mix with it's many nutrients and minerals. Apart from the fact that I'm a sucker for the fabulous pink color, salt does you the favor of dissolving as you use it – a nice detail if you're not crazy about doing a lot of after-bath cleanup.

You can replace this salt with fine salt, dead sea salt or any other combination of salts you like. Most important is using fine grain salt. Coarse or flaked salt risks scratching the skin which kind of defeats the purpose of an exfoliant. You don't want to be emerging from your bath with painful scratches all over.Epsom salts(INCI: Magnesium sulfate) are a lovely addition to a scrub (or bath salts in general).

About the Wet Ingredients

The rose infused sweet almond oil (INCI: Prunus amygdalus dulcis) is a lovely, all-round skin soothing ingredient that can be used as a stand-alone massage oil, as part of a face serum, in a body oil, as the oil phase in a lotion, or anywhere else you use oil in your cosmetics (and yes, it will 'withstand' being heated for use in an emulsion). Learn how to make your own rose infused oil in the links below.

The rose infused castor oil(INCI: Ricinus Comminus) is a great addition to a scrub. Contrary to most other oils, castor oil has a very slow absorption rate, and because it more readily sits on the surface of the skin, it's great for a cleanser of any type. It is also well tolerated. If you want to make a rose-infused oil, find a link below.

The turkey red oil (INCI: Sulfated Castor Oil) mixes well with water and helps emulsify the scrub helping it rinse away without leaving an oily film.

Let's Make a Scrub

This amount will make a single jar that holds about 150 ml / 5 fl oz.

LisaLise’s Exfoliating Rose Body Scrub

Ingredient

Grams

Ounces

Himalayan Pink Salt (fine)

70.0

2.47

Epsom Salts

20.0

0.71

Rose Exfoliating Paste

15.0

0.53

Rose Infused Sweet Almond Oil

40.0

1.4

Rose Infused Castor Oil

10.0

0.35

Sulfated Castor Oil (Turkey Red Oil)

20.0

0.71

Method

Weigh ingredients

Place all ingredients in a bowl

Mix ingredients

Transfer to container

Store dry at room temperature.

A Note About Storage

There is no added preservative as this formula does not contain any water. You will therefore need to keep the contents free of moisture during storage and use.

I use a large-ish wood spoon to scoop out a portion for each use, then carry the spoon to the shower.

Adding Preservative

If you want to add a preservative (so you can be a bit more relaxed about how you store and use the product), you'll need to add a broad spectrum preservative as this is a product designed for use in a wet environment.

There are loads of possibilities and just as many preferences when it comes to preserving a scrub. Use the manufacturer recommended amount (for many preservatives, this is around 0.8% - 1% although some natural 'no-preservative-preservatives' will call for up to 4%).

Comments

Hi Lise,This sounds heavenly! Would love to try it, but have a few questions. This may be obvious, but I would need to add all THREE of the wet ingredients components i.e. the sweet almond oil, castor oil and turkey red? It's not a case of choosing just one, correct? Finally, the link for Rose Exfoliating Paste isn't working. Also where would I find sulfated castor oil? Thanks so much!

Hi Lucie! Sorry about the broken link-- it's fixed now. To answer your question: you COULD just use the almond oil but the formula is intended to be with all three. If you dump the other 2, you'll have a greasier feel. Sulfated castor oil is also known as turkey red oil and is sold my many cosmetics ingredients suppliers. This ingredient helps the oil disperse in the water and rinse away easily.

I just recently made a beautiful body scrub using sea salt, freshly roasted and ground coffee beans, orange peel, Rhassoul clay and coconut oil. It's amazing as an exfoliant. My skin feels so smooth and soft after using! So much fun. :)